It’s not that long ago that butter and cheese were the main products from the dairy sector and the skim milk left from the butter plant was fed to pigs, while the whey from the cheese was often spread on land if no local farmer with pigs considered it worth the expense of collecting.

How the dairy sector has changed, with skim powder now the main ingredient in the internationally traded and hugely valuable infant formula business.

Dairy farmers may consider that most of the profits from the new outlets are going to the great international food companies but nevertheless, infant formula is a hugely important component in facilitating a continuous increase in milk output.

Meanwhile, on the cheese front, little needs to be said about how the humble whey has achieved cult status among athletes and specialist nutritionists with prices to match.

Mince, a classic commodity offering if ever there was one, is absorbing an increasing share of the carcase with a correspondingly lower price

Land spreading is the last thing any whey manufacturer would consider. Cereals have also developed significant added-value uses.

Glanbia, the largest grain purchaser in the country, maintains that over 60% of its grain goes to some kind of premium outlet whether it is the oats, gluten-free or standard that goes for human consumption, or the oilseed rape that is challenging olive oil as the healthy option or the malting barley or wheat used for distilling and brewing. We are seeing outlets being developed and increased output finding markets.Grain farmers will maintain that the main beneficiaries are the manufacturing companies and the retailers, but it is clear that high-quality assured products coming from our farms are in demand. In the beef sector, we seem to be going in reverse.

Consumption in Britain, our main market, is dropping and mince, a classic commodity offering if ever there was one, is absorbing an increasing share of the carcase with a correspondingly lower price.

No new uses

I have not heard of any new uses for beef protein corresponding to the skim and whey on the dairy side and apart from the specialist Japanese Wagyu beef, I have not heard of any super premium beef products being developed. The fortunes of the leather fraction seem to wax and wane and, while the fat element may have a place in the energy sector, it’s at rock bottom prices.

So the future for the Irish beef sector? The tentative attempts to establish a real grass-fed premium comparable with the Kerrygold premium on the German market may come to something but the project will need a great deal more energy, resources and commitment than is visible so far.

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